Shoe-fastener.



- PATENTED MAY 31, 1904. G. VAN WAGONER dz 0. A. LINDSTROM.

SHOE FASTENBR. APPLIOATIOR nun 00mm, 1903.

N0 MODEL.

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UNITED STATES Patented May 31, 1904.

PATENT OEEIcE.

GARRET VAN WAGONER AND CHARLES A. LINDSTROM, OF RUTHERFORD, NEW JERSEY, ASSIGNORS OF ONE-THIRD TO IDA V. ROWZEE, OF

RUTHERFORD, NEW JERSEY.

SHOE-FASTE-NER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 761,113, dated May 31, 1904.

Application filed October 21, 1903. Serial No. 177,933. (No model.) 7

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that we, GARRET VAN VVAGONER and CHARLES A. LINDSTROM, citizens of the United States, residing at Rutherford, in the 5 county of Bergen and State of New Jersey, have invented a new and useful Shoe-Fastener, of which the following is a specification.

Our invention relates to shoe-fastenings, and has for its objects to produce a simple inex- I pensive device of this character which may be readily manipulated for securing or releasing the shoe and one in which liability of the fastener catching and tearing the garments of the user is wholly obviated.

I5 To these ends the invention comprises the novel details of construction andcombination of parts more fully hereinafter described.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a view of a shoe having our invention applied 20 thereto. Fig. 2 is a similar view showing a portion of a shoe with the locking member in position and the shoe secured. Fig. 3 is adetail view.

Referring to the drawings, 1 1 indicate the 5 flies of a shoe of the usual or any preferred construction and having our improved fastener 2 associated therewith.

The fastener consists, in accordance with our invention, of a pair of spiral springs 3,

3 attached one to the edge of each fly and designed to receive a locking member 4:, which extends through and is common to the helices of both springs for maintaining them in shoeclosing position. Thesprings 3, which have 35 their lower ends brought together and soldered or otherwise secured to an attachingring 5, with their lower helices in superposed alinement, are attached to the shoe-flies each by an attaching member 6, preferably in the 4 form of a continuous wire bent to form outer loops 7 which engage the coils of the spring, and inner loops 8, secured by stitching or otherwise to the fly of the shoe, between the outer leather 9 and its lining 10, whereby the 45 spring-attaching means is wholly concealed from view, while the springs lie along the edges of and impart a neat finished appearance to the flies. The locking member 4, which is composed, preferably, of flat spring metal of suflicient flexibility to conform readily to the bend of the foot in walking, is in practice inserted upward through the springs to locking position and has in order to prevent its accidental escape a lateral hook or engaging portion 11 provided at its lower end for engagement with a cooperating hook or its equivalent 12, attached to one of the flies. In practice the locking member will, owing to the lower helices of the springs being maintained in superposed alinement, serve when inserted to draw the springs together, thus closing the shoe, which obviously may be released by withdrawing the member A.

From the foregoing it will be seen that we produce adevice of simple construction,which is admirably adapted for the attainment of the ends in View; but it is to be understood that in attaining these ends we do not limit ourselves to the precise details herein set forth, inasmuch as minor changes may be made therein without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention.

Having thus described our invention, what we claim is- 1. The combination with a shoe and its flies, of apair of coacting spiral springs associated one with each fly, a flexible locking member adapted for insertion through the helices of both springs, and means independent of' the locking member for maintaining the helices of the springs adjacent to one end in permanent superposed axial alinement.

2. The combination with a shoe and its flies, of a pair of coacting spiral springs associated one with each fly, a flexible locking member adapted for insertion upward through the helices of both springs, and means independent of the locking member for maintaining the lower helices of'the springs in permanent superposed axial alinement.

In testimony that we claim the foregoing as our own we have hereto aflixed our signatures in the presence of two witnesses.

GARRET VAN WAGONER. CHARLES A. LINDSTROM. Witnesses:

LILY KRUGER, HENRY KRUGER. 

